Dr. Bruce Banner, with the help of his research scientist colleague and girlfriend, Dr. Betty Ross, tries to create a way for humans to become immune to gamma radiation; this is a project General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, Betty’s father, wants to recreate from the World War II experiments. One experiment Ross tries to recreate is the Super Soldier Serum used to transform Steve Rogers into Captain America. He is only able to make one batch of the serum.
When these experiments result in Banner transforming into the Hulk, he tries to find a way to cure himself in order to prevent the Hulk from causing further destruction.
The experiment goes wrong and Banner’s cells become poisoned with gamma radiation, resulting in him becoming the Hulk and nearly killing his girlfriend. Betty is hospitalized with multiple injuries. In his rampage, the Hulk destroys part of the college and city near where the experiment occurred. Afterwards, General Ross tells Banner to leave town, and Banner goes into hiding in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to find a cure to end the Hulk transformation.
He knows that he cannot return to his life until he has ensured the safety of those he cares about. Despite these circumstances, Banner does not give up hope and searches for a cure to his condition so that he can return to the life and woman he loves.
Banner has adopted a peaceful lifestyle while seeking a cure to his condition; while in Brazil, he learns and practices different breathing techniques in order to control his heart rate and anger. He also discovers that tracking his heart rate with a watch and keeping it below a certain rate will allow him to not turn into the Hulk. If his heart reaches 200 bpm (beats per minute) or more, he will turn into the Hulk. In an effort to decrease the likelihood of a Hulk transformation, Banner tries to avoid confrontation with others and other activities, such as sexual activity and running, that would raise his heart rate.
He is also cognizant of the potential weaponization of the Hulk abilities and avoids the people that want to experiment on him in order to stop them from creating more beings like him.
Five years after he transforms into the Hulk for the first time, General Ross finds Banner and tries to capture him to do tests on him and create a super soldier. Ross sends a special forces team, led by Emil Blonsky, to capture him; however, Banner transforms into the Hulk, who defeats the special forces team and escapes.
Banner returns home and finds Betty, but her new boyfriend soon exposes Banner’s location to Ross and his team. This results in a second altercation between the Hulk and Ross’ forces. Although Ross used a super soldier serum created 20 years prior to help Blonsky become stronger and more powerful to enable him to beat the Hulk. The Hulk still defeats the improved version of Blonsky with one back-handed punch.
Despite continued adversity, he continues to decide to work toward helping others, even those who are trying to hurt and work against him. In doing so, he inadvertently brings himself back to someone who truly does care for him — Betty.
After his first battle with Blonsky, Banner continued to try and find a cure for the Hulk by sending a blood sample to be cloned by another scientist, “Mr. Blue”. While he’s on the run with Betty, Blue gets in contact with Banner and claims to be successful in creating an antidote to the Hulk and asks them to meet at Grayburn College in New York to test the cure.
When they meet, Blue, whose real name is Dr. Samuel Sterns, reveals that he synthesized Banner’s blood in the hopes of using it to advance into the next stage of human evolution. When Banner attempts to warn against the potential dangers of sharing his blood, he is knocked out by one of General Ross’ snipers.
Banner is a great example of a selfless individual. Even before he became the Hulk, he did what he could to prevent destruction to human life and society as a whole through his advancements in science; further,Banner displays kindness to even those who do not like him and wish him harm.
Blonsky, who had already taken the recreated Super Soldier Serum, forces Sterns to inject him with the Hulk serum, and he becomes the Abomination. At the same time, Banner was stuck in the custody of General Ross while Betty begged her dad to let him free. Banner convinces General Ross to let him out by stating that the only way to beat the Abomination is to let the Hulk out. The Hulk beats the Abomination, and although he has the opportunity to kill Blonksy, his heart wins out and he allows Ross’ forces to capture the Abomination. Soon after, Banner escapes New York after saying goodbye to Betty.
Banner has accepted the duality to his identity; after escaping New York, he begins working with the Hulk to find a way to control the transformations instead of continuing to seek out a cure.
Little does Banner know, he’s training for a much bigger purpose. At the end of the movie Tony Stark aka Iron Man shows up at a bar and tells Ross that a team is being put together. Although this movie isn’t considered the official kickoff of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it introduces major themes carried out throughout all of the future films.
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About the Author
Chad Thompson, LCSW, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker providing Christian Counseling in Tampa, Florida and telehealth services across Florida, Utah, Idaho, and South Carolina. With a unique background in cinema studies and over a decade in hospitality, Chad brings a distinctive storytelling approach to therapy that helps clients see their struggles and growth through new perspectives. He specializes in faith-based counseling that integrates clinical expertise with Christian values, offering services including anxiety therapy, depression treatment, and support for military families. Chad’s warm, authentic style creates a safe space where faith and mental health can work together toward healing. Learn more about Chad’s approach to Christian Counseling and cinema therapy at Calming Transformations Counseling.